Never Alone
by The Midnight Thief
Summary: Brother and sister are reaped for the 68th Hunger Games. Only one can win and a sacrifice will be in order if either want to return home. Through the struggles they face, both really have only one joined fear that'll haunt them all the way till the end of the Games. Rated T because it's the Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

I wake in the middle of the night screaming. My face is damp with tears and my hair is tangled in countless knots. It only take a few seconds till I hear my brother, Nook, running out his room and into mine. Straight away he dives to my side and is hugging me tight. I hug him back and he's saying things that I can't hear over my own ragged breath. Mother appears at the door and I can tell she's been crying. She joins us on the bed and it turns into one big family hug.

It's been a long time since we've all been together like this. Mother is always working, trying to support the family. I never knew my Father and Nook has little memory of him. Mother never speaks of him now and acts like he was never around but one time I managed to get Nook to tell me what happened. He was very unsure and worried he'd get in trouble but I managed to get him to loosen his tongue in the end. Apparently Father had a heart attack just a month after I was born.

"Avia, listen to me. Listen to me!" Abruptly, I stop crying and look straight at mother. She never raises her voice at us. "Listen to me Avia. Nook, you too."

"What? What is it?" Nook asks. I can tell he's scared. You always see what Nook is feeling through his eyes. But he only gets scared over serious things, whereas I squeal over the sight of my own shadow.

"It won't be either of you. I promise. But..." Mother hesitates for a moment. Before she can carry on, Nook sweeps in.

"There are no buts. We are both safe as can be. Fact." I perk my head up a little and see all the fear from his eyes are gone. I smile up at him but he's looking down at me with same hesitation mother had. My smile falters.

How many times is my name in that wretched glass bowl? Not too many but just enough. Nook almost never let me take tesserae but sometimes I would. I quickly work it out in my head and I must be entered at least 26 times. Nook is entered 52 times and he's eighteen.

"Why?" I whisper quietly before I realize what I'm saying. This catches his attention. "Why are you lying?"

"Lying?" He repeats slowly as if it's a different language.

"We're not safe from the Capitol. No one is."

I can see the pain now in his eyes. Mother looks uncomfortable. The silence seems to echo round the room and I regret saying anything. Suddenly, mother stands up from the bed. We both stare up at her and the tears are visible in her eyes. She flees from the room before either of us can watch them fall.

Nook shakes his head and pulls me closer. It's some time before he pulls away. When he does, he holds me gently by my shoulders at arms length. In his brown eyes I can see a glint of mischief, and I know what he's about to offer.

"Want to train?"

Before he's even finished speaking I jump up from the bed and head over to the dresser. With Nook's help, we pull it out and then search for the loose floorboard. I find it first and when I pull it up I see the familiar wooden box. Everything's made of wood in District 7.

Inside, we find our daggers. That's it. Both made of sharp metals and are identical except at the handles. We snatch them up and head outside, careful to check for peacekeepers. The districts curfew was hours ago and we could get in a lot of trouble for being out this late. I'm surprised Mother even lets us do this.

Nook leads me through the dark and out into the thick woods that surround District 7. After so many miles, the woods are cut off with an electric fence the once killed one of our old neighbors.

When we are covered in the trees, we pull out our daggers again and start throwing them at trees as if they were throwing knives. The soft tunes of the nearby mockingjays calm me and the scents of the wild plants make me feel almost happy. After we throw our daggers several times at the trees, we get bored and head home before the sun comes up. Normally, we might spar with each other or try slashing at some trees but today just isn't the same.

I feel someone shaking on my arm, trying to wake me. I keep my eyes shut firm and roll over, hoping who ever it is will go away. They don't though and it takes me a lot of will power to stop myself from screaming at them to go away. Whoever it is seems to have decided to wake me by force in the worst way possible. In a flash, I feel my blankets are ripped from me.

I squeal as the cold attacks me and tuck my legs up to my chest. I glare at mother who's dropped the blankets back on the bed, her face red with guilt.

"Come on Avia," She sighs when I pull the blankets back over me. "You can't be late for the reaping."

I freeze. More than before. No one ever mentions the word in our house if they can help it. That's pretty much the golden rule for us.

I slip out of the bed and avoid looking at mother. "No. I have to please the Capitol, don't I?" I reply icily. Mother stiffens for a moment before escaping out my box room. _Damn her,_ I think bitterly.

I pick out the nicest clothes I have to wear for the reaping. A white blouse, black skirt and black shoes. Once I'm ready, I head out to the living room where Nook is sitting in a white shirt, black trousers and shoes.

"So Sleeping Beauty's awoke at last, has she?" He chuckles lightly. I realize I haven't brushed my hair yet and it's a mess. Scowling, I find the one hair brush we all share and drag it through my dark red-ish brown hair.

"Why are you so happy then?" I ask angrily. I'm not sure why I'm even angry but that just makes it worse.

"For the feast we'll be having tonight of course!" He grins and I smile a little with out meaning too.

"And just what will this feast be made up of?" I ask carefully.

"Berries," Nook pauses. "And berries." In the woods surrounding District 7 there's plenty of berry bushes but not too much else. Peacekeepers don't let us kill any animals that we come across on the rare occasion we do.

"Berries and berries," I laugh. "My favorite."

I tie my hair into a high ponytail and then go to look out the window. I see other children heading off to the town square and sigh. Without a word, Nook gets up and heads out the door. I follow after calling to mother that we're going. She'll leave a little after us, probably going with next door.

As I walk down the path to the town square with Nook, I feel myself shaking. I've always been terrified of the games. The scariest part to me is that I'll die alone, if I'm reaped. I'd die a brutal death far from home with complete strangers that don't care who I am.

I tuck a stray hair behind my ear and wipe my eyes, afraid I'll cry. I think Nook realizes how scared I am because he's clasping my hand firm in his and is promising he'll never, _never_ let me die alone in the games.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer (Because I forgot to write it at all yesterday): Sadly, I don't own Hunger Games... 'Tis only a dream...**

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><p>I watch Tizzy Bloom waltz on stage. Her wig is bright blue with even brighter yellow highlights. The light seems to bounce off her unnaturally pale skin and I find that my eyes are hurting by just looking at her. She's the new escort for District 7 and is pretty much jumping up and down with excitement. Eventually, though, she takes her seat next to the Mayor, some other officials and Karo Veneer, who's district 7's latest victor.<p>

Quickly, I search the rows of children and see Zoe Thistle, my best friend, a few rows forward. I try to smile at her but of course she doesn't see me so I turn my attention back to the stage. The mayor steps up to the center of the stage and begins reading the story of Panem. I pretty much fall asleep till he gets to the bit where he reads the past victor's names. We have had 9 victors in total. At least it's not as bad as District 12.

Then the mayor calls up Tizzy for the reaping. Oh how she must love being the center of attention... Even if we all are silently hating her.

"Well, well!" She says, catching the attention of most of the younger kids that started day dreaming. "How about we begin?"

She walks over to one of the glass bowls, her heels going _tap tap tap _along the stage. Her long nails go around and around through the thousands of names. Finally, she picks one out. I notice she hasn't said whether its the girls or boys, and I bet she's forgot which bowl is which.

The silence is deafening. I want to scream at her to get on with it. But then, eventually, Tizzy clears her throat and reads out the name in her rich Capitol accent.

_"Avia Pines!"_

_No. _It's the only word I seem to remember. _No, no, no, no!_

"Avia Pines?" Tizzy repeats uncertainly. Suddenly I realize everyone's staring at me. I want to rewind back to - well I don't care where to. I just can't go into the Games. I can't! They've been in my nightmares each night since I was 10 years old. I'm surprised when I start moving. I think I almost forgot how. Step by step, my feet make their way to the stage. It's a dream. It has to be.

"Lovely! Now for the boy tribute,"

Somewhere among the crowd, I spot Nooks face. His eyes are cold and sad and I choke back a sob, not wanting to be seen as weak on national television.

_"Nook Pines!"_

I slowly turn to face Tizzy. This is impossible. It's some sick joke and any second now she'll start laughing in her arrogant way and tell us it was a silly prank. But she doesn't. Nook makes his way to the stage in an even slower way than I did, and then somewhere among the parents and family members, I hear a cry, a scream.

_Mother._

I feel like any second now I'll just break down and cry in front of everyone. But thankfully I don't since Tizzy has the ignorance to carry on with the reaping. She makes us shake hands, unaware of the glares we keep throwing her way.

Next thing I know, we're both taken into custody. In the Justice Building, the peacekeepers lead me into a room and wait outside. The room its self is three times bigger than my own bedroom.

_The bedroom you'll never see again..._

And though it's dusty, it's very well decorated. The floral wallpaper is almost identical to the ones on my walls expect the color is lighter. I sit carefully on a expensive sofa that's made of a dark red materiel. I like the feel of it on my hands so for the next few minutes, I'm just running my hands back and forth through it. Then I hear heavy footsteps before Mother bursts through the door.

"Avia!" She cries, and I'm up on my feet again. "Oh Avia!"

"It's okay mother, it's okay." I repeat this over and over as she weeps into my hair. Tears start falling from own eyes and soon we're both hugging each other and crying like there's no tomorrow. Then, I remember, we only have so long together so I push her away and look her in the eyes. I open my mouth to speak but no words come out. That's when the peacekeeper comes and forces her out the room. She screaming at me but I can't understand a word she says. Just before the door slams shut, Mother throws something to me but it ends up bouncing off the wall and landing a little way in front of me.

Once she's left, I feel empty. I kept staring at the object before I finally reached for it. It feels rough in my hands and smells like fresh wood. It's a necklace. My district token, no doubt. The string is thin but strong and the pendent is made of wood and is the shape of a circle. On the circle, a symbol is carved in and I remember it immediately from an old game me and Nook used to play.

In the game we used to take turns carving a line onto wood till it started to create a picture. Often, the picture would end up as a somewhat lanky wolf. I love wolves. I've only seen one in person but often they can be heard in the woods surrounding the district. They are dangerous but most of them are smart enough to stay away from the villages and towns. Sometimes I wonder if it's us or them that's more afraid of the peacekeepers.

The door opens and brings me back to reality. Zoe Thistle, my best friend since primary, comes in. Her long ebony hair is tied in plaits that rest on the front of her shoulders. It makes her look so much younger than she is. As soon as she sees me on the floor, she shakes her head and embraces me in a hug.

"Zoe?" I ask slowly, but then continue without waiting for her to speak. "What happens if I die?"

"Die?" Zoe gasps, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth. "You mustn't think like that!"

"But I will!"

"You're clever and fast and... and quick though!" She says in a rush. "You can definitely survive if you tried!"

"Oh Zoe, you know I can't. Not with people who's been trained their entire lives. I can do what? Wave a dagger around? Run for cover? Those things won't save me."

"But they will! You just have to use your wits. And make allies. Then you won't be alone. They can watch your back for you and help you survive."

"And then?" I'm shouting now and as much as I want to, I can't stop."Then what? Stab them in the back when they need me most? Or just let them kill me so I can die knowing I suffered for nothing?"

A peacekeeper enters the room now and pulls Zoe away. Probably thought Zoe was attacking me with all the shouting or something. They wouldn't want that to happen. Then they'd have to go to the trouble of reaping another girl.

That's all the visitors I get. I only see Nook again when we're in a posh Capitol car driving to the train station. The journey is silent and even Tizzy manages to not annoy me too much. I play over the events of everything that will happen over the next few weeks, trying to make a plan. I try to conjure up an image of the arena but fail. I don't think I'd like to start imagine the horrors it holds yet anyway.

_Stab them in the back when they need me most? _

For some reason that seems to just keeps whizzing around my mind. I promise my self I won't do that to anyone though. I'm not a killer and I never will be.

At least I hope so anyway. The arena changes people.


	3. Chapter 3

When we get inside the train my head hurts from all the bright lights. The main cart is furnished so richly that I actually feel angry. Why should people blow so much money on this when District 12 is starving and District 4 constantly suffers from tsunamis? Those people need aid from the Capitol and money to save their selves but of course the Capitol thinks we are all part of their games, don't they?

Tsunamis... God, I hope there's none of those in the arena...

I hear Nook gasp as he enters the room. I almost forgot he was here strangely. I guess the Capitol can take your mind of things when you're silently raging about them. We both hesitate on what to do or where to go. Tizzy takes her chance to take center stage again.

"While we're traveling to the Capitol this is where we'll be staying. You're rooms are just through the next carts and your wardrobes are stocked with brand new clothes!" She giggles lightly, walking over to the door. "Off you go! You need to look as ravishing as I do for the Capitol!"

Nook is fuming silently and I drag him away before he can start yelling at Tizzy. I know she's an idiot but it's not her fault. Really.

In my bedroom everything is forest green, from the bed to the hairbrush on the oak wood dresser. This is weirdly thoughtful of the Capitol, considering I'll be dead five minutes after the games have began. I creep over to the dresser, my feet silent on the carpet. I scan through the clothes quickly, pulling out a few random things till I find something that fits. It's a pale green blouse. What a surprise.

After changing into that and some black bottoms, I head out to the main cart again. Nook's sitting on a bright red leather sofa in front of a very big TV. I slide over behind him, again completely silent. With a grin, I shake his shoulders wildly, causing him to jump and turn furiously to me. His strict frown slowly turns upwards though when he sees how much I'm laughing. He laughs too and for some reason we can't stop. Our faces are bright red and I'm not even sure why. We haven't laughed like this together for months but it feel good to let it all out.

Nook suddenly stops laughing and that causes me to stop to. He staring at the TV again. I sit down carefully next to him, my eyes not leaving the screen. The reaping ceremonies from all the districts flash up on screen. First it's 1 and both tributes are volunteered. The girl and boy are, apparently, cousins according to the commentators. They both have strawberry blonde hair and sky blue eyes. They move like cats, stepping up lightly to the stage, swaying their bodies with out a worry in the world.

District 2 is definitely scarier. The boy tribute is a volunteer but I have no clue why. He's so small that it must only be his first or second reaping. I dismiss him from my mind since he's no threat for sure. It's the girl I'm scared of. She runs proudly to the stage, waving her arms up to the cameras. A vicious smirk is set on her face and I squirm in my seat.

The other reapings whizz by and then it's us in 7. Tizzy looks ridiculous prancing about on stage. But then she reads the name and the camera flashes to me in the crowds. The commentator comments on how I'm like a lamb, ready to be killed in the wolf's den. I guess you would get that impression from the look I had on my face. When Nook is reaped they says that he looks like he knows what he's doing. And from the look in Nook's eyes, I'm with them. He looks like a trained tribute almost with determination in his eyes.

Then it's the other five districts and the show's over. Pretty much no one expect District 1 and 2's tributes stand out to me. I turn to face Nook, pulling my knees up to my chest on the sofa and hugging them tight. He sighs and meets my eyes unwillingly.

"Avia," He starts, "I just want to say one thing."

"What?" I ask and it comes out as a whisper.

"In the arena," He says slowly, "I will-"

He gets cut off by Tizzy, who comes running into the room at full speed. She looks at us and glares. She lectures us on how we should be in bed right now because we'll be arriving in the Capitol in no more than two days and that we need to look our best for the cameras. I pause before getting up, looking back at Nook and then walking steadily back to my room. When I get there, I realize I haven't had dinner. This makes me angry. We're supposed to be going to the Capitol to participate against our will in their slaughter games and they don't even have the curtsy to feed us!

I open my bedroom door then slam it as loud as I can. One of the servants walking pass jumps and rushes along. Good! These Capitol people don't care about me so why should I care about them?

I go to the dresser and change into a nightie that, for once, isn't any kind of green. It's a very light shade of red that Mother would have said compliments my hair.

Mother. I feel guilty for not have thinking about her that much. What would she be doing now? Trying to get to sleep? Sobbing into her pillow? Hopefully the neighbors have been comforting her. I remember when she did the same to them when their oldest son was reaped for the games and never came back.

I try to banish any thoughts of home or the games so I can sleep soundly. It doesn't work well but when I do sleep, nightmares keep waking me. Ones of the cat-like cousins and the monstrous girl, but mostly of the painful death I'm sure is waiting for me. After those nightmares come the worse ones.

_"Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the sixty-eighth Hunger Games, Avia Pines!"_

_I pull myself up from the ground, panting heavily. The applause from the Capitol is deafening. I throw my fists up in victory but then slowly bring them back down. I unfold my hands and stare at them. A sticky red liquid stains them; Blood. I fall to my knees, still staring at my hands. The blood keeps getting thicker and thicker on each of them. The blood of the small District 2 boy, the blood of the girl cat-like cousin but worse of all, the blood of my brother.  
>The voices are screaming at me. The endless cries of the innocent boy make me beat myself the bitter laugh of the girl makes me scream myself and throw myself around of the floor, begging for it to stop. Then I hear <span>his<span> voice. He's begging me, pleading at me. I grab the dagger beside me, stained with the blood, and start stabbing myself. The pain goes on and on, my own blood staining in the grass beneath me and then the pain stops dead and all goes dark. _

I awake screaming and sitting upright in bed. I'm sweaty and out of breath, my hair covering my face. Panting, I push it back and then slowly slip out of bed. My anger from earlier is drained but not my hunger. The kitchen is easy enough to find though the food is hard to prepare. Half of it I've never seen before in my life and don't know what to do with it. In the fridges (there's four of them), I manage to find a bag of red apples that seem to shiny and perfect to be real.

Back in my bedroom, I munch on the apples and try to sort out my thoughts. It takes me a while to realize I'm slowly falling asleep and put the apple on the bedside table so I don't choke on it.

Choke on it. Wouldn't that be a nice idea. The Capitol would love that.

I awake to a knocking on the door. It's Tizzy trying to get me up for breakfast. Dragging myself out of bed, I shuffle over to the dresser. The constant knocking doesn't stop so I end up slamming the dresser shut and going to breakfast in my pajamas. From the look on Tizzy's face, it's safe to say she hates me.

Breakfast is too filling. There's at least twenty different types of meat cooked in every possible way imaginable. Eggs scrambled, poached, fried, boiled and steamed are all loaded on Karo Veneer's plate, who's finally graced us with his presence, and it's only know I see how big and strong he is. A big apatite for a big victor.

I wait for him to speak to us, to give us advice. He doesn't. The only words he mutters are to the servants that don't ever both to reply back. They just nod and scurry away frightened.

Nook is getting agitated. He keeps frowning and trying to find something, anything, to say. When he does finally speak, it's a good break from Tizzy and her lectures to me about grace and keeping up appearances.

"How are we supposed to survive? To get sponsors?" His voice is empty, completely hollow. Karo looks up from his eggs and frowns.

"_We_? There's only one victor, kid. And let me tell you now, it won't be either of you."

"Maybe we could win if you'd help us and stop stuffing your face." Nook shots back. Karo stands abruptly from the table and scowls at him. If looks could kill.

"Get it into your head, kid, there's only one victor. I'm not helping you win. I'm not helping you die. I'm only here to keep up appearances." Venom drips from Karo's voice and I wince. His head turns suddenly and he's looking at me. His eyes run up and down me as if he's scanning me physically and mentally. "Can you sneak?" He asks slowly.

"What?" I say, my brow furrowing. I can see he's slightly annoyed but he hides it well.

"Can you sneak?" He repeats even slower.

"I-I don't know." I sip some water and meet his eyes. "Why?"

"You seem to be perfectly made for it. You're small for a what? Fifteen year old? And you're feet seem to work silently against any kind of flooring."

"I'm sixteen," I say annoyed. "And so what if I'm small or quiet?"

"Stealth is a good weapon for the arena. Sometimes you may need to spy on other people or sneak up to them and stab them in the back." He says it easily, as if it's no big deal. His words remind me a little of what happened with Zoe when we were talking.

"No." I say quietly. He doesn't hear and goes on about stealth and daggers together as a strong combination. I stand angrily from the table. "No!" I repeat louder, catching everyone's attention.

I can see Tizzy is confused. Stupid Capitol puppet. I can see Karo is surprised. Stupid arrogant victor. But mostly I can see Nook and the understanding in his eyes. With one quick glance around the table, I run silently out and back to my own room, where my stupid feet make no noise against the cold floors. For the rest of the day I'm alone in my room. It gives me time to make myself look pretty for the Capitol and try to improve my attitude.

It's only hours later that someone comes to gets me. The knock on the door is hesitant but firm. I mumble for whoever it is to come in and I'm surprised it's Karo himself. I raise an eyebrow at him but he only glares back.

"We're almost at the Capitol. You might want to come wave to the audience." He says 'audience' with a snarl and then he's gone. I let out a sigh before I'm following him and then suddenly I see why he was so bitter about it. From out the window I can see dozens of cheering Capitol people, all waving and shouting at us. These people - puppets - don't care about us. All they want is a show. In their freaky fashions I'm almost scared of them but I'm determined not to let them underestimate me.

Suddenly I feel a cool hand on my shoulder and see it's Nook. He looks so empty and broken. I search his face for something - anything. He manages a small smile before giving me a quick hug. Then he's by the windows waving to the puppets.

I'm scared he's becoming one himself.

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><p><strong>Hellooo fellow Hunger Game lovers! So I know there's a few people reading this and one or two follows etc. But I was wondering if any of you would review for me? It would be a big big boost and suggestionsadvice are very berry welcome!**


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as the train slows to a stop, Tizzy and Karo instantly push us out the door. There's more of the puppets than I thought there'd be, each one snapping pictures or pointing and making comments. And I'm secretly afraid. Not that I let it show. I'm determined to earn as many sponsors as possible. I wave, smile and laugh. It seems to fool almost everyone.

When we're away from most the crowds, Nook's hand slips into mine and gives it a gentle squeeze. He laughs at the surprised look on my face and I scowl at him. He shakes his head at me playfully but then stops and looks up in awe. I look up to, trying to see what's so fascinating. Then I realize it's The Capitol itself. The towering but beautiful buildings, the pristine streets and of course the people.

Their fashions are weird but at the same time stunning. I see one woman who actually has a snout and wolf ears. _A snout._ I wonder how painful the surgery was for a while but then my mind gets distracted by all the expensive vehicles. I can't even name half of them.

Me and Nook get packed into one of these vehicles and before I know it, we're at the Remake Centre. A strange building that just screams out _"Expensive!". _It's not a normal looking building either. It shaped so that it curves over like half of golden ring. In fact, that seems to be what it's based off, judging from the shiny golden glow surrounding the outline of the centre. So the Capitol can make buildings glow... How utterly pointless...

Once we step inside, I'm whisked away to a room where I meet my prep team. Marlina, a tall lady who's skin has been dyed a banana shade of yellow and her hair gelled into this weird style of spikes that could actually hurt someone if it came to it. Hortmon, a scary man who always smiles. Always.I think it's surgery again. And lastly, Leonamier who is by far the most chattiest of the three. He seems to not hear what anyone else says at all.

And for the next two hours I am poked, pinched and prodded by my three most favorite people in the world. They make various comments about my hair, nails and figure that I want to slap them for.

"We need to dye her hair something more appealing!" Marlina cries.

_Like the colour of a banana?_

"Her nails are horrifying!" Hortmon fans himself dramatically.

_Just like your smile._

"She's just too skinny! She has no curves or any real strength in her at all! She won't last five minutes if we don't do something to help her." Leonamier wines.

_Well then shut up and get to work! _

It actually takes them half an hour just complaining and observing me before they actually get to any real work. They debate over what 'season' I am, what my colour code is and how I am to be presented to suit the Capitol crowd. For most of this of course, I just daydream. I come up with this crazy fantasy of how the games are cancelled due to rebellion in the districts and so all the tributes get busted out the Capitol. Then I look around as if the Capitol might be able to tap into my thoughts. Nowhere's safe for a tribute in the Capitol.

Leonamier suddenly announces that I'm good enough (for now) and says that the head stylist is ready to see me. They all leave me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, completely naked. Then a lady enters, her bright rainbow hair flowing behind her. She looks reasonably normal for the Capitol. But her bright violet eyes freak me out a little as they scan me and I see the corners of her mouth twitching upwards.

"They've done well. Here," The words aren't spoken, only sung in a silky voice. I wonder if she sings everything she says.

She offers me a thin robe which I gladly take. Then she inspects my face closely. Her hands pull at my cheeks, ears and hair. I can tell by the way her eyes shine that she thinks I may have potential to wear whatever wacky chariot outfit she's made for me.

After she's done inspecting my face and hair, we sit and the lady starts introducing herself.

"I am Fiyla, your head stylist. I expect we'll become fast friends."

"I bet so. I'm Avia." Then I feel stupid. She already knows who I am!

"Right, now Avia, you're from District 7 - Timber." I nod and try not to roll my eyes. "So what I was thinking is we have you be-"

"A tree." I cut in dully. Fiyla grins and starts bouncing up and down.

"Yes, yes! And not just any tree, an apple tree!"

An apple tree. A flippin' apple tree! Yes, because that's the most original idea ever. It's not been done a million times already.

"That sounds fantastic. I can't wait." I try to keep my voice level but it drops a little. Not that she notices.

"Lets go, lets go, lets go! Oooohhh, I'm just too excited! The sponsors will just die when they see you!"

Fiyla drags me out the room, still singing with excitement and I'm wishing I'm the one that's dead.


	5. Chapter 5

I feel like an idiot. And I look like one too. Fiyla has designed (copied) an apple tree which does not compliment my figure at all. I understand I'm skinny, much skinnier that any Capitol person would want to be, but still. She made the costume for someone much curvier than me and taller than me. I've seen her costumes for tributes before and she always seems to think that she'll get a girl that was made completely from her own imagination that looks like a model.

On me, the costume looks completely stupid. The zip is hidden at the back of the tree trunk, covered in an extra fold of material. All the heat builds up inside the trunk and I sweat like a pig. The branches are my arms so I'll have to hold them up all through the chariot ride which will just about kill me. Apples the color of dried blood hang down from the branches and they're actually just made of cardboard or something. Most of my upper body and head is a tangle of branches and leaves, with a hole just big enough for my head to peak through. Most of the leaves flop down just above my forehead since I'm not actually tall enough to wear the costume.

I must look gorgeous.

Later I see Nook is dressed in just about the same thing except his costume fits much better. We wait by our chariot with Fiyla and Karo silently. I see District 1's tributes, the cat cousins, looking amazing in their outfits. The girl's body is sprayed golden with glitter all over and the same with her hair. She wears a tiara that's silver and a silver tunic with sandals. The boy tribute however was opposite. His body and hair was sprayed completely silver with glitter and wears a golden crown, tunic and sandals. Together they looked stunning, if not a little stiff next to each other.

Must be awkward having to kill your cousin.

I look longingly at them as their carriage takes off. The crowds are shouting their names and cheering so loudly I'm tempted to put my hands over my ears.

One by one, the other chariots shoot off and then it's us. Fiyla is telling us to smile, wave and keep our arms up. I want to block her voice out badly but it's soon thankfully drowned out by the cheers of the crowd as we draw closer. Then we're out and everyone's looking at us. I feel my face go red and then see on the big TVs that they're showing us. Nook stiffens besides me but I take his hand in mine and squeeze it. We remain with our hands held but are careful not to let anyone see. It's like a sort of unwritten rule that you can't truly acknowledge the tribute with you on the chariots.

With my other hand, I wave best I can and try to keep up a big smile. I hate my smile. When I was six a boy once told me I had a yucky smile and then ran away laughing. Later that day though I sneaked up behind him with a big stick and pushed him in the mud. At least I got even.

The chariot comes to a stop and I look up to the big balcony with President Snow watching each of us. I wince as his eyes scan over me but my attention is taken away by District 12 as their chariot comes to a stop a little way over to my left. The tributes are naked and covered in black coal dust. I can see the amusement on the careers face at this and the satisfaction of disgusted look on most the crowd's faces. It's probably safe to say that District 12 won't have any sponsors but then again, they're probably thinking that about us.

After the chariot ride and all the embarrassments over, me and Nook are taken to the penthouse. Everywhere we look we see expensive and pointless Capitol items that could have easily been made in our own district with wood at a better quality. This makes me really angry but I try my best to hide it. Why should we suffer and live in filth while the Capitol never has to know pain?

Tizzy shows me to my bedroom and starts laying out dresses on the bed for me to pick from. I sigh an choose the first one I see, a red knee length dress with black leggings. It's covered in little diamonds, which I have no doubt about them being real. I wonder if this dress is new or if other dead tributes have worn it before me...

At dinner there's so much food I'm surprised my eyes don't go pop. My mouth hangs open a little but then I shut it before Tizzy can lecture me on it. I've had enough of that for the rest of my life. My _very __short_ life.

I fill my plate up with food and look over to Nook and see him doing the same. He turns to look at me and our eyes meet, faces red with guilt. There's not enough food to go round in half the districts but we're sitting here eating like Capitol pigs.

After a while I start to feel too awkward eating in silence.

"So..." I say, catching everyone's attention. The silence was too frustrating and any small talk is better than none.

"Nice weather recently." Nook says stiffly. I know how much he hates those awkward silences but his social skills are horrific.

"Really sunny." I agree, stiffing a giggle. The corners of his mouth twitch upwards and he looks down at his hands trying not to laugh.

There's the sudden sound of a chair scraping against the floor and we all look to see Karo, glaring both of us. He opens his mouth to speak but then shuts it. I share a look with Nook and Tizzy before Karo does speak.

"You two don't understand do you?" His voice is just below a yell. And I bite my lip. I think I know what he's going to dig at and I can't blame him.

"You think it's all giggles and fancy dresses but what you don't remember is that you're both going to die. And every moment you suffer, The Capitol is celebrating and betting on your lives. And you know the worst of it?"

There's a pause and no one says anything. Tizzy seems deeply confused, as if she's never really known what the Hunger Games are all about. Fiyla, for some reason, looks very embarrassed. I don't dare make eye contact with anyone though I can feel Karo's eyes boring into me.

Nook sighs for a moment, as if sounding annoyed with Karo.

"The worst is that we die alone with people who don't care about us. That our families watch our deaths and can't even touch us again before we're dead. The very worst is that The Capitol turn us into killers before we die."

For a brief moment Karo looks surprised. He didn't expect an answer, or, at least, not that kind of answer.

"Yes." He murmurs. "That sounds about right..."

Then he leaves and, strangely, Nook follows. I stand from my seat and take a few steps towards the door they both disappeared through. I'm about to call out to Nook when Fiyla grabs my wrist. She shakes her head slowly, and pulls a finger up to her lip. I frown and look past her for Tizzy but she had long retreated back to her room. My gaze goes back to Fiyla and she moves her finger from her lips to mine then gently pushes me through the door towards hushed voices.


	6. Chapter 6

I stumble down the corridor. There's several doors, each one looking identical. I follow the voices to the the last door that's slightly ajar. All I can see through it is a little of Nook's head. Karo must be standing close by so I don't dare to get much closer. Through their hushed conversation I can only pick up little bits.

"... Just want to survive."

"... And besides your sister..."

"I know but I want to try to get..."

"The rules can't be broken for more reasons than one."

"... But I think that if I-"

"Won't work." There's a short pause and then an irritated sigh. There's more speaking that I miss and can't keep up with. I lean a little closer and press my ear to the door. The voices stop dead and I realize I've moved the door forward ever so slightly. And before I know what I'm doing, I'm running silently back to my room. I end up banging my foot on the door frame as I leave the corridor and curse beneath my breath.

In my room I flop on to the double bed and scramble under the blankets. If I pretend I'm sleeping then maybe...?

I steady my breathing but the sound of hard footsteps against the wooden floors coming closer makes my stomach twist. I bury my head into the pillow and hope for the best.

The door squeaks open and I feel someone standing over the bed, watching me. I have a sudden urge to laugh. I've never been good at this sort of stuff. When we were younger, Nook could always find me in hide and seek but only because I couldn't keep quiet.

The person leaves and I breathe again. I sit up, rub my head and then yawn slightly.

That's when I hear a cough and see the bedroom door is still open and Nook is leaning against the door frame smirking at me.

I can't stop the look of surprise on my face but cover it immediately with a large yawn, stretching my arms wide into the space around me.

"What are you doing here?" I ask. It's hard keeping my voice level so I yawn again mid sentence. I'm certain Nook's figured me out. I probably need to stop yawning so much.

"Oh, y'know," He says lazily. I don't expect him to continue so when he does I'm surprised. "I'm just looking for a little spy that happened to be eavesdropping on a very important conversation."

I feign a look of surprise. This isn't going well.

"A spy?" I pause then laugh. It comes out too nervous and there's a look of triumph in Nook's eyes. "Well Tizzy certainly loves to gossip and-"

"Oh come on Avia," Nook interrupts. "I'm no idiot and neither are you."

"Well..."

The smirk falls from his face. I can feel a lecture coming on. I bite my lips and stare at my hands. He comes and sits at the edge of my bed and trys speaking. No words come out though and he shuts his mouth. I'm not sure how long we're left sitting in silence but it feels like hours. I rummage through my brain to try and find something to say. There's a lot I want to ask him but I don't think this is the time.

"Allies?"

I look up, startled. I almost forgot he was there weirdly enough. "Allies?" He repeats again.

"What do you mean 'allies'?" I ask, narrowing my eyes.

"Do you want to be my ally in the arena? Y'know for the games..."

"I thought we already were. Did you really have to ask?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"Well no, but I wanted to make sure you wouldn't just leave me stranded at the Cornucopia by running off screaming into the woods." He answers, grinning.

I laugh and try to imagine it. Would I do that when the time came? Hopefully I won't lose that much sense to fear.

"It wouldn't win us many sponsors, would it?" I resort. It seems strange talking about the games like this.

"Who needs sponsors anyway? Not me and that's for sure." He laughs again and flexes his muscles. I hit him playfully on the arm but start laughing too.

"You may not need sponsors but Avia does and that is for sure." A voice says. We stop laughing and look to the door. Karo is standing there, strict and stern as ever.

"You're weak and people will go for you. Won't last twenty minutes even if you do survive the Cornucopia." He tells me and my face falls. He's right, of course, but I never really thought about it and hearing it out loud crushes any hope I had left.

"That's not true-" I start to protest but stop myself. My voice sounds feeble and pathetic, even to me.

He turns to Nook as if I had never spoken. "You have a plan Nook. Possibly a winning plan. Remember what your goal is." Karo turns on his heels and leaves just like that. Nook and I share a look before he leaves too.

It's only laying in bed at night, playing the day over when it all comes together.

Nook intends to win the Hunger Games.

And there can only be one victor.


	7. Chapter 7

The thought of Nook winning the Hunger Games seems illegal. Dangerous and disturbing. I feel like I'm betraying myself to think such thoughts. Nook's my brother. My best friend. He wouldn't kill anyone to win the Hunger Games, and he wouldn't kill me. But who says he has to? I'd probably die within the first few seconds of the bloodbath by a Career's hands. Besides, Nook could just camp out in a cave or something and let everyone else kill each other. He doesn't _have to_ kill anyone necessarily. He can and will find his way around anything the gamemakers throw at him.

And I'm happy for him. No, that's not true. Not really. I want him to win but I... I want to win with him.

"Not possible," I whisper the words into my pillow. I sigh then turn over, staring up at the ceiling. My thoughts drift to tomorrow.

Training day.

I cringe. I don't want to train with all those deadly weapons. It makes me start counting all the different ways I can die. All the painful ways I can die.

Everything's about death in this world... No, not death. Power.

Power, power, power!

That's what The Capitol have and they aim to keep it. My life, Nook's life, the other tribute's lives... it all means nothing to The Capitol. Just away to keep the balance, the power.

God I hate The Capitol.

* * *

><p>The head trainer, a man named Seano, explains the rules for training. No attacking or killing other tributes. No taking weapons or supplies out the training area they're from. All the basics everyone knows really. I feel the Career's eyes on me but then trail past to the more intimidating tributes. Relief fills know I'm not a threat and I haven't gained any attention from anyone who could snap my neck before I could even blink.<p>

As soon as Seano finishes, tributes scatter to different stations. I pause and look around for Nook. He's already at the crossbow station, not something likely to be found in the arena.

He sees me and smiles. I run over to the station and watch as he shoots bolts at the targets. After a few false starts he gets the hang of it and hits bulls eye. When he hands me to the cross bow I gulp nervously and look to the trainer for advice. She starts saying how to hold it correctly and load in the bolts but I can't get the hang of it. Thankfully, Nook shows me himself and earns a sore look from the trainer.

"Not like you were any help anyway," I mutter under my breath. Nook laughs loudly and I jump, accidentally pulling the trigger and shooting the bolt. It flies through the air and skims the top of another tributes head. Her wide eyes and scared expression makes my face flush a deep red and drop the crossbow. The noise it makes as it hits the floor echos throughout the room.

Everyone's staring at me in shock as if it was no accident. I want to defend myself but when I open my mouth no sound comes out.

I know the gamemakers are staring at me too from their balcony. Suddenly, I hear a slow, sarcastic clap. My eyes shoot up to the male tribute from, I think, District 4. He laughs horribly and walks off with his District partner to the wrestling station. And, just like that, everyone goes back to what they were doing. I look up to Nook and he tries to bite back a smile. I glare at him and leave for the camouflage station.

The gamemakers are watching me carefully. Every move I make now will be recorded. They're thinking I'll be a hazard to their games, that I'll kill a tribute way before due. If I did I can only imagine what they'd do to me.

I get so caught up in my thoughts I don't notice when I've walked past the camouflage station and to the one-handed weapons area. I grin sheepishly at the trainer. His face is blank but I know what he's thinking.

_"She's the one that tried to kill that other tribute. She's the one that's out of control."_

I gingerly pick up a sword, the weight of it surprising me so I almost drop it. It's much heavier than my old dagger but I can try and transfer my skill over to it. Hopefully this will be a small advantage that will make a big difference.

The trainer asks me if I know any basics and for honesty's sake I say I do. If he's surprised he doesn't look it. He starts teaching me new techniques and the proper stance. After ten minutes of that, we engage in a proper sword fight.

I try everything I can to knock him down or make him submit but shamefully I'm the one that gets knocked down. I scramble to my feet and the trainer points out my mistakes and gives more advice. Halfway through the bell sounds for lunch. I trail behind the other tributes but as soon as we're in the lunch room I brake off and sit on my own. Shortly after Nook joins me.

"Lovely show you put on," He chuckles. "Really made the careers jealous actually."

I perk my head up. Is he serious? Apparently so.

"Are they jealous of my determination to get myself killed before the games begin?" I ask lightly and somewhat sarcastically.

"What? No, of course not. Don't you see?" He frowns and I realize this is definitely serious. "You got the gamemakers attention. They'll remember you more than any of the others now, something that is rare before the private training."

He's right... I never realized just what I've done. I made my self stand out and now everyone, not just the gamemakers, will remember me. The careers have gone from not knowing I was there at all to envying and despising me just because of one mistake I made. The only bright side is that the sponsors won't know about any of this.

"Oh damn." I whisper. "Oh damn it! I've made myself a target, haven't I?"

"You mean for the tributes? No, your're not... not a target." Nook says as if it's impossible. He squeezes my arm to reassure me. "You just need to show them you're not worth remembering. They'll soon have bigger issues than you."

_Like you._

I bite my lip hard, remembering everything from last night. I want to tell him what I heard but I can't. What if I'm wrong? It'll hurt him, break him even, if he knows what I've been thinking.

"Avia?" He asks, unsure.

"What? Oh, yeah, I need to umm... make them forget me. Sure, easy as pie!" My words sound fake even to me but I smile broadly and hope it fools him.

"No, Avia, _look__!_"

I follow his gaze and see the head gamemaker and four peacekeepers escorting him over to our table. I feel a stab in my heart but can't say I'm all that surprised. I committed a crime of sorts and I need to pay for it.

"N-Nook?" I fail at keeping my voice steady and it sounds as if I'm going to burst into tears at any given moment. His hand grasps mine tightly like he'll never let go. I have something I need to tell him though before-

"Miss Avia Pines, female tribute of District 7. Please come with us."


	8. Chapter 8

Geove Peyton is probably the strangest Head Gamermaker I've ever seen.

He stares at me from across his desk with nothing but curiosity in his golden eyes. He has a tattoo on his left cheek of a sharp blade, slightly tilted, with a fresh green vine winding it's way up to the tip of the knife. His cream coloured hair is quite short but one strand he has allowed to grow down to just below his ear.

I noticed straight away he has an odd habit of scratching his elbow every few minutes and then looking behind him for a few seconds. He does this only once while I'm waiting for him to speak but on the way to his office he did it at least eight times.

Am I going to die? Maybe it's about something else. Perhaps they know it was an accident and I'm here for a completely different reason.

I scratch my wrist nervously. Do I speak or wait for him to? Should I give him false flattery? That's what Grandma did when she tried to start a conversation with someone in an awkward moment. Compliment his shoes or hair, perhaps. But the way he looks at me... Maybe I should just make a run for it. At least that way it would all just be over in a matter of seconds.

I glance over at the door. Four peacekeepers waiting outside. I clear my throat and his eyes shoot up to mine. Big Mistake.

Well now I've got his attention, I might have well say something... anything.

"I...um, it wasn't my fault about-"

"Avia Pines, we understand what you're trying to say." His voice both startles and stumps me. Mostly because teachers always said that to me before they went on to punish me, and since I've hardly said anything for him to understand. "And you understand that assaulting another tribute before the Games has a punishment of death, correct?"

I nod my head wildly as tears come to my eyes. I knew this was coming. Of course they wouldn't just ignore it and pull me out for something else entirely different. Geove watches me carefully, taking a sip from his glass.

"We've checked over our security footage several times. We've went over all of your files and past incidents with any peacekeepers from before the reaping. We've made notes of your behaviour since arriving in The Capitol. We are led to believe it wasn't a planned attack."

"No, no, of course it wasn't!" I say, finding my words. "Just a mistake! An accident!"

He observes me now carefully. There's something on his face but I can't tell what. A mixture of pity and curiosity?

"Miss Pines, please calm down." He pleads gently. I look up at him in surprise. He strokes my hand and makes the hair on my neck stand on end. He pauses before continuing. "It wasn't a planned attack. It wasn't an attack at all. Just a mistake. An accident." He murmurs the last few words softly and I stare at him.

He stares back at me and I shrink back in my chair. This man is very creepy and very strange indeed. The look in his eye never changes but it always does. He makes no sense to me and for some reason, I want to make no sense to him. I want to surprise him and see what's behind this little act.

I stand abruptly. I give him a big (and very fake) grin and shake his hand firmly. He blinks up at me and for a moment I do see some surprise on his face that is immediately masked with blankness.

"Thank you very much then! I'm glad this mess got put right nice and quickly. I'll head back to wherever it is I'm supposed to go now. I knew you'd understand. Good day then!" My voice sounds so different - confident and happy almost. I've most definitely shocked Geove into silence for now.

I make for the door, not even sparing a look behind. I know what I've done can be taken either in a good way or bad way. It might even help me survive longer if he was impressed or something by whatever it was I just did. It might make me die a painful death within the Games. But right now I don't give a damn.

As the door shuts behind me I hear his unforgettable voice whispering to himself. It's so quiet I hardly hear it but I manage to catch what he says before the door slammed shut. His horrid words ring clear through my ears and my skin crawls before I disappear from the view of the office.

_"I have my plans for you, don't you fret little lamb. Don't you fret."_

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry it's shorter than normally. I think I've come down with a case of writer's block D: Well I tried my best and would like to thank the people who spent the time to review! Virtual cookies to all of you!<strong>

**And a quick reply to PrincessFabala- ****I try to proof read as much as possible but I honestly just hate re-reading my own work. I went back and changed/fixed up a few of the older chapters as well though so hopefully they're better now! I don't mind to much about lack of reviews, just glad to have some to look over for advice and etc. Reading your review made me feel so amazing! Thank you VERY much for your support! :D :D **


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